PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST

Compensation Disclaimer Compensation for this role is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to experience, education, and other business and organizational considerations. Department: BH Response Team-Pro Fees FTE: 0.05 PRN Shift: Rotating Position Summary: Coordinate and provide services and resources to individuals/families necessary to promote rehabilitation, recovery, and resiliency. Identify and address the strengths, which will aid the individual or family in the recovery and resiliency process, as well as the barriers that could impede the development of skills needed for independent functioning in the community. Support the individual and the family in crisis situations; provide personalized interventions to develop, facilitate, or enhance an individual’s ability to make informed and independent decisions. The patient care assignment may include children who are at risk of/or experiencing serious emotional, neurobiological, and/or behavioral disorders; adults with severe mental illness (SMI), individuals with chronic substance abuse, and/or individuals with co-occurring disorders. Ensure adherence to Hospitals and departmental policies and procedures. Patient care assignment may include neonate, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric age groups. Detailed responsibilities: * PATIENT SAFETY 1 - Follow patient safety-related policies, procedures and protocols * PATIENT SAFETY 2 - Demonstrate proactive approach to patient safety by seeking opportunities to improve patient safety through questioning of current policies and processes * PATIENT SAFETY 3 - Identify and report/correct environmental conditions and/or situations that may put a patient at undue risk * PATIENT SAFETY 4 - Report potential or actual patient safety concerns, medical errors and/or near misses in a timely manner * PATIENT SAFETY 5 - Encourage patients to actively participate in their own care by asking questions and reporting treatment or situations that they don't understand or may "not seem right" * PATIENT CENTERED MED - Adhere to and promote the core expectations of the Patient Centered Medical Home or Patient Centered Specialty Practice as applicable * NAVIGATION/ PATIENT ADVOCACY - Work to eliminate barriers to access to culturally competent medical services for all patients. Assist patients to access community resources, and financial assistance programs and services that are needed * COLLABORATION - Collaborate with medical providers, multidisciplinary team members and community resource providers to assist patient to meet above described treatment goals * LIFE SKILLS - Facilitate and encourage the development of skills in the following areas: activities of daily living, interpersonal coping, socialization, & community functioning. Based on the needs of the individual, this function could include facilitating adaptation to the home, school, work, recreational, and social environments; pro-active self-care, nutrition, & money management * DEVELOPMENT - Plan for professional growth related to professional goals based on self-assessment, evaluation and feedback; assume responsibility for acquiring knowledge and experiences to meet goals * WELLNESS - Offer information and resources to provide patient information on their specific mental “condition”; serve as a mentor to promote recovery and resiliency and instill hope; teach symptom monitoring, symptom management, and relapse prevention skills * WELLNESS - Provide information about illnesses; assist individual with knowledge of their medication, side effects, discuss medication concerns with the provider; facilitate self-motivational skills for medication regimen, including consequences to independent living * SERVICE PLANS - Assist in the development and coordination of the individual’s service plan based on his/her identified strengths and goals. The plan will include a recovery/resiliency management plan, crisis management plan and if requested, advanced directives concerning the individual’s behavioral healthcare * RESOURCE COORD - Assist the client in obtaining access to and coordination of necessary rehabilitative, medical and other services to include assistance in obtaining financial and medical benefits/entitlements; assist in obtaining and maintaining safe affordable and stable housing, and provision of support and mentoring to behavioral health consumers involved in the Judicial System * SUPPORT SERVICES - Encourage the development and eventual succession of natural supports in the workplace, school, family, and community environments * ASSESSMENT - Work with the individual/family to identify personal strengths, needs and barriers to attaining self-identified goals; conduct ongoing assessments to determine if the services accessed are meeting or have adequately met the individual’s needs * CRISIS INTERVENTION - Assess, support and intervene in crisis situations including the facilitation of the development and use of individual crisis management plans that recognize the early signs of crisis/relapse and use natural supports. Identify & encourage use of alternatives to hospital emergency departments and inpatient hospital services * TRACKING - Coordinate and monitor use of services, including comprehensive tracking of client activities in relation to care plan such as attendance to all scheduled appointments, reviewing documentation of other in-house providers, and maintaining contact with external providers. Conduct post discharge follow-up contact as appropriate * DOCUMENTATION - Document all client encounters and those made on behalf of clients; complete and submit billing documentation as appropriate; maintain current and comprehensive client files. Files may contain documents held for safe keeping on behalf of a client * STATISTICS - Maintain and report applicable statistics regarding programs and client services * DEVELOPMENT - Enhance professional growth and development through participation in educational programs, reading current literature, attending in-services, meetings and workshops Qualifications Related Education and Experience may be substituted for one another on a year for year basis. Education: Essential: * High School or GED Equivalent Experience: Essential: 1 year directly related experience Nonessential: Bilingual English/Keres, Tewa, Tiwa, Towa, Zuni, or Navajo Credentials: Essential: * CPR for Healthcare/BLS Prov or Prof Rescuers w/in 30 days * Certified Peer Specialist recognized in State of NM * Valid New Mexico Driver's License * UNM Vehicle Operator's Permit w/in 60 days Physical Conditions: Light Work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly (Constantly: activity or condition exists 2/3 or more of the time) to move objects. Physical demand requirements are in excess of those for Sedentary Work. May require walking or standing to a significant degree or requires sitting most of the time but entails pushing and/or pulling of arm or leg controls; and/or may require working at a production rate pace entailing the constant pushing and/or pulling of materials even though the weight of materials is negligible. Working conditions: Essential: * Med Haz: Dirt, dust, fumes, odors, bad weather, noise * Subject to random alcohol and substance testing * Tuberculosis testing is completed upon hire and additionally as required Department: Behavioral and Mental Health